I'll Be There, I Promise
by Ryuuzaki-chan
Summary: Nia, a knight, wakes up after 12 years in coma. Failing to fulfill a promise she had made when she was a child, she goes back to the past, losing her memory, except for that promise. please R
1. Nia

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ragnarok. Gravity Corp. owns it, and so does Lee Myoung-Jin.**

ooo

_Danniella._

_Danniella Archbald._

Who's there? Who's calling me?

_Do you remember everything in your life? What have you been doing all these years?_

What? How come I don't remember what I have done? What did I do yesterday, or the day before?

_Open up your eyes, Danniella, and you will see._

ooo

My eyelids felt so heavy when I forced myself to open them. What a weird dream that I had. I stretched my arms a bit and felt an immediate sore on my muscles. I blinked my eyes to look at my surrounding.

I was on a plain white bed inside a large room, along with several other empty beds.

What is this? An infirmary? What the hell am I doing here?

"Uncle, look, she is awake now!" I heard a voice from outside the room.

Was she talking about me?

Soon after, two men rushed inside the room. One was vaguely familiar, while one looks like my brother, but only older.

"Nia! Are you okay?" The vaguely familiar man asked me. I could only stare back at him.

"Do you remember us?" The one who looks like my brother asked.

Jeez, he also sounded like my brother. Wait a minute, is he my brother?

"Dan?" I asked him

"Oh, good, she remembers me!" Dan exclaimed.

"And, Vermont, is that you?" I suddenly said to the vaguely familiar guy, remembering that he was our neighbor and my brother's best friend.

"Nia, you wouldn't believe how worried we were about you all these years!" Vermont said.

All these years? What in the world was he talking about?

"Wait, Vermont, we should take it easy with Nia. Her condition may not be well yet. Let's take her to Martin first." Dan suddenly said. "Follow us, Nia."

My condition? What's happening around me, how come I don't know all about it?

I struggled to follow the two outside the room as I barely walked with my feet feeling heavy.

Where am I?

Oh, I am inside Prontera Castle. At least I know where I am.

"Nia, Martin has been waiting for you to awaken. Please see him inside this room and he'll explain everything to you." Vermont said when we stopped by a large wooden door.

I had no idea what surprise I was going to get.

ooo

The room was like a mini-church with crucifix and other holy symbols that lined the wall. In the middle stood an old priest who beamed when he saw me.

"Danniella Archbald!" The old priest shouted and started to walk towards me.

"Martin? Is that you? Why did you turn so old?" I suddenly blurted out. As far as I can remember, Martin was not that old when I last saw him.

"Sit down, and I'll explain everything to you, Danniella." He said when he saw my surprised face. "I'm going to explain it to you calmly. If you don't want to hear it right now, it's fine by me. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

I couldn't take it any longer. What was this supposed "secret" that everyone was hiding from me?

"Martin, tell me everything that I need to know."

ooo

"You do remember the war, don't you? When Morocc officially attacked Prontera, and every knight was called on the battlefield?" Martin asked her.

The war, I remembered it as if it was just yesterday. The last thing I remembered was we were winning. What happened in the end? Was I there when it ended?

"The war!" I exclaimed. "I do remember it, but what happened in the end? I don't remember it at all."

"The war had ended, and Morocc was defeated."

"I knew that would happen! But where was I when it ended?"

"You were in the infirmary already, Danniella."

"But, for how long?"

Martin didn't respond, he just looked at me with his feeble eyes. It was as if he didn't like to answer my question. Suddenly he spoke in an inaudible whisper, "Twelve years."

Upon hearing his answer, my knees suddenly grew weak then I began to tremble. Twelve whole years? It meant that I was sleeping in that bed for twelve whole years. I missed out twelve years of my life. But, that means, I'm already…

"Twenty-eight years old, Danniella. You're already twenty-eight years old. Twelve years is such a long time. Many have changed when you were in coma. What do you want to know?"

"Why? Why was I in a coma?" I could barely speak.

"No one knew. Vermont saw you already lying in the ground, unconscious. He brought you to the infirmary and abandoned his post. He said that there were rubbles of concrete beside you. He arrived at the conclusion that maybe you were hit in the head during an explosion." Martin answered and he turned his back on me.

An explosion? My memory is still blurry, but I remember it somehow.

"But why did I wake up just now? Why after twelve years?" I suddenly stood up.

"When a person is in a coma, it takes some motivation from that person for him to regain his consciousness. Maybe you experienced something in your body that made you wake up." He answered.

Huh? But what…Oh, the weird dream that I had! The voice I heard was telling me to wake up. But why?

Before I knew it, I started running out of the room, too scared to know everything that happened.

"Danniella, wait!" Martin cried out, but I didn't turn to face him.

ooo

After some running, I found myself outside Prontera, near the creek where I usually spend some time alone when I was still a child. My mind couldn't possibly accept everything that Martin had said to me. I'm already twenty-eight years old. I've grown-up now, and missed most of my childhood days. My body has changed too, I now looked mature. But, no, this was not what I wanted.

"Hey!" A voice said from my behind which made me jumped back. "It's Aunt Nia!"

What the!? Since when did I suddenly become someone's aunt? Unless…

"Aunt Nia! Do you know me? I'm Melon, your niece!"

I looked behind my back and saw a cute little girl who looked a lot like my brother. Oh no, please don't tell me…

"Daddy, I found her! I found Aunt Nia!" The girl excitedly said, or more like screamed.

Suddenly, Dan came running towards our direction followed by Vermont. Oh my god, this is the end of the world. Dan has a child!? I didn't know that he'll have one, I didn't even know that he'll manage to get a wife.

Dan, seeing my expression, suddenly burst out laughing, "I know you won't believe it, Nia, but it's true. Melon is my daughter."

"But, who? When? How!?" That was all that I could say.

"It was about eight years ago when I married, and you'll never guess who."

"My sister." Vermont suddenly said.

What the!? The last I heard, Dan and Veronica were sworn enemies. And they were the last people on earth who would manage to get married.

"And that makes us siblings-in-law." Vermont added.

"Aunt Nia is so pretty!" Melon suddenly said as she hugged me.

I just kept quiet and didn't say a word. I felt so left out and everything that was happening kept on surprising me.

"Anything wrong, Nia?" Dan asked me.

"Everything. I couldn't understand everything that has been going on. I just need some time alone." I quietly said. Dan and Vermont looked at me in concern and we all fell silent.

"Nia, I know that you are overwhelmed with these recent events. We'll leave you here for a while and give you some time to think about it. But come home before it gets dark, okay?" Vermont finally said.

"See you, Aunt Nia!"

When they were gone, I closed my eyes to think. I knew that I was missing something. I felt like I forgot to do something. After a while, I began to drift away in sleep.

ooo

"_You're Nia, right?" _

"_Huh? How do you know about that! Who are you!?"_

"_I've been watching you ever since you came here."_

"_Who are you?"_

"_I'm Jan, I'm also on vacation here in Lutie."_

"_I'm Nia, but you already know that by now. We come here every year."_

"_Oh, well we only come here for vacation every four years or so. Hey, how old are you?"_

"_I'm ten, why?"_

"_Hey, I'm ten too. I have an idea…"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Let's meet again here after eight years. When we are already eighteen, when were old enough."_

"_And then?"_

"_I don't know, let's see, I'll give you a surprise! Just be sure to come here exactly after eight years."_

"_I promise, you'll find me here."_

ooo

Where am I? That's right, I'm at the creek. I didn't know that I fell asleep. But that dream, that wasn't just any dream. It's from my own memory.

Jan.

The promise.

Our promise.

I wasn't able to come to Lutie. Did he wait for me? What happened to him? I wanted to go to him, but I know that it was already late. Too late.

Is it possible for me to go back to the past?

"Anything's possible, Nia." A voice suddenly said.

"Who said that?" I asked. It seemed like the voice answered my question, even if I asked it to myself.

"I did." The voice answered and a figure suddenly appeared in front of me. "I'm Arma, and I can take you back to the past. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"You ask too many questions, do you know that? But you never seem to find the right answers, right?" He said, not answering my questions.

What in the world is he saying!? But, he's right…Some of my questions were never answered. Maybe some of my questions had no real answers.

"How did you know that I wanted to go back to the past?" I asked him.

"Nia, not all questions have logical answers. I didn't come here to answer all your questions. I come here to take you back to the past. To the past that you had missed. I can take you to Jan."

Jan!? But, how in the world did he know all about this?

"How?"

"Enough questions, do you want to go back to the past?"

I don't get it. Who is this guy in front of me? Can he really take me to the past?

"You want to know if I can really take you to the past? You're really a curious person, Nia. But the only way to find out if I could is for you to try. It isn't too much." Arma said.

Can I trust this guy?

"I will do it." I found myself saying.

"I know how much you wanted it. But do you know what will happen to you when you go back to the past?"

Eh?! A while ago he seemed very persuasive, but when I finally agreed he seemed reluctant. Is this guy nuts?

"People like to travel back to the past when they regret something they have done, or what they haven't done. You feel this regret, do you?" He added.

You could say that again.

"Yes, I do, but it's none of your business." I said.

"If that's what you say. When you go back to the past, you'll forget everything except for the promise that you had made with Jan."

"Forget everything? But is that the only way?"

This guy was absolutely nuts.

"Yes, Nia, it is the only way. Or do you want to live your life like this, full of regrets and failed expectations?"

I stared at those blue piercing eyes of this mysterious man who calls himself Arma. I could see nothing in those eyes, only emptiness.

"I'll go."

I wanted to see Jan very much. I wanted to see the surprise that he made for me.

"You'll be taken back to the time before you had your coma. You will be sixteen years old during that time. I will be manipulating the past, and your coma will be avoided."

"Can I go back to the present time?" I asked him.

"Yes you could. I will be sending some people to watch over you, in case you do something that isn't right. If you don't want to continue, you could just tell it to that person."

"How will I know who those people are?"

"They'll tell you who they are."

"Bring me to the past now, please."

"Just remember something, if you do something in the past, you'll greatly change the present as well. Be careful." Arma said and then he disappeared.

What the?! Where did he go? I thought he'll transport me back to the past? Was this some kind of sick joke?

I suddenly felt a throbbing sensation in my head. I began to feel dizzy and then…my vision went blank.

ooo

**A.N. this is my first Ragna fan fic and it's been a long time since I have played it.**

**Ryuuzaki-chan**


	2. Sem

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ragnarok. It belongs to Gravity Corp. and to Lee Myoung-jin.**

ooo

_"Let's meet again here after eight years. When we are already eighteen, when were old enough."_

"_And then?"_

"_I don't know, let's see, I'll give you a surprise! Just be sure to come here exactly after eight years."_

"_I promise, you'll find me here."_

ooo

Jan and our promise. We met at Lutie when we were both ten and we promised that we'll meet again when we were eighteen. He said he'll have a surprise for me.

I smiled thinking about that thought. But my smile quickly faded away, I couldn't remember anything else. How old was I? And where the heck was I? And why couldn't I see anything? Did I become blind?

It then dawned on me that I had my eyes closed, and when I opened them, I wish my eyes just stayed shut. I was inside a small, badly maintained house, lying down on a hard and dirty bed.

I did not know how I manage not to sneeze in this house full of dust. I struggled to get out of the bed and tried not to knock over the piles of rubbish that were all over the place.

Where in the heck was I? And what was I doing in a place like that?

When I finally made my way to the door, the sunlight nearly blinded me. Jeez, I thought it was already night considering how dark it was inside the house.

Confused, I walked around the house to see where I was, and saw that the house was on top of a hill but a nearby town was not faraway. I knew that nobody probably live in the house I was staying at, and I needed to see people that I could ask. I felt that my mind is quickly nearing its chaos.

Where am I really? Have I forgotten everything? I quickly thought hard about my life, but I couldn't bring up anything. All I could remember was about Jan. What's wrong with me?

All of a sudden, a strong arm grabbed me and pinned me to the ground.

"What are you doing out here, eh? Did you enter my house?" my attacker said. He was about seventeen years old, but he was strong and had a tight grip on both of my wrists.

"Who are you? Please let me go," I pleaded with my voice shaking.

"Not when I'm not yet done with you." he said in a menacing tone. His hand let one of my wrists free, but it made my way up to my thigh.

This is so not happening to me, please.

He removed his hands from my thigh, but it went to my blouse, quickly removing the buttons.

"Please, let go of me. I don't mean any harm. I'll never bother you again," I said but he continued to ignore me.

He finally managed to remove all the buttons in my blouse, but his eyes darted to my neck. He touched my necklace, a gold chain with a sapphire pendant, with surprise in his eyes. He suddenly let go of me and stood up.

"Are you Nia?" He suddenly asked.

I could not answer him. All I could do was to look at his eyes, which changed from that intimidating look to a gentle sight. Who is this guy?

With half of my body exposed to him, I quickly blushed and turned away from him.

"Who are you really? And why do you know me?" I shouted at him with anger.

"Fix yourself and come inside the house. I will tell you what you need to know."

ooo

"I'm sorry."

Those were the words that greeted me when I entered the house.

"Who are you!? And what am I doing here?" I demanded from him.

"Hey, no need to get angry with me. I did apologize. I didn't know that you were Nia that Arma told me about," he answered.

Arma? Who are all these people?

"I know that look of yours. You don't remember anything, do you?" he suddenly asked me.

"How did you know?"

"Well, first things first. My name is Sem, and you're Danniella Archbald," Sem said.

Okay, so his name is Sem. But I still don't know him!

"I know my own name," I snapped.

"Sure you do, but other than that, do you remember anything else?"

I remain quiet and didn't answer. Well he did have a point, aside from my name, I could only remember Jan and the promise. Other than that, nada.

"You don't, right? I'm here to help you out. I suppose you don't remember Arma as well? Arma was the one who asked me to watch over you and to explain some things to you." He added.

What the!? His answer left me in more confusion.

"What am I doing here?" I asked.

"Sit down and I'll explain everything," Sem said and gave me a mug of hot chocolate. "You're Nia and you're sixteen years old. You're a knight who lives in Prontera. But you're here right now at Juno."

So I'm sixteen, there's two years left before Jan and I will meet again.

"What the hell am I doing out here in Juno. I should get back to Prontera," I said.

"You can't, Nia. There's a war outside and this area is safe. You can't go back yet."

"But what am I doing here in Juno?"

"It's a long story, but it is my duty to explain it to you. Would you believe me if I told you that you are now in the past?" He asked and looked at me directly in my eyes to show that he was serious.

The answer would be no.

"No," I frankly replied.

"This is just too hard for me. Why do I have to do this?" He said. "Please believe in what I would have to say. Because it is true that you are now in the past. The way to prove this to you is this, listen carefully."

Wait a minute, this guy is nuts. He might even be crazy.

He paused for a moment and looked at me. He looked like he was waiting for me to respond.

"Err, go on," I managed to say.

"The only thing that you remember is a guy named Jan and a promise to meet him when both of you are eighteen right?" Sem said.

How in the world did he know? Could this guy read minds?

"How did you know that!?" I exclaimed.

"It's hard to explain when you don't believe me, so now, would you believe in me?"

"Well, I guess I would."

ooo

"As I have been telling you, you are now in your past which has been modified by Arma," Sem told me for the third time.

Just who is this Arma guy?

"Err, who is Arma?"

"You won't know who he is…yet. But he was the one who sent you back here, and he asked me to watch over you. But I'm not the only one, there are twelve us that will watch over you. But only one at a time."

This was getting way too confusing. I've got too many questions.

"If I really am in the past, why did I come here? Surely it isn't just because I'm bored right?" I asked him.

"Be patient and I'll tell you everything. You came back to the past in order to meet with Jan."

"Why? Will I not meet him in Lutie when I turn eighteen?"

"I don't know, Nia. Honestly, Arma didn't tell us. He appeared to you during the present, and you agreed. He modified the past in which you are in. And so you're here at Juno with me."

"And where do you enter in the picture?"

"I'm one out of the twelve guardians that Arma sent. We're here to guide and help you, as well as to remind you not to do anything stupid. This is a modified past, and anything that you do will greatly affect the present day. If you're not careful, you might just destroy Midgard."

Yes, this guy is so out of his mind. Maybe that Arma, too.

"In case you're wondering how I knew that you were Nia, it was because of that necklace that you had. That's Arma's necklace. If you wish to return to the real past, just hand it over to a guardian, and you'll be back to the present, and everything you did here will not affect anything."

So yes, not only was this guy out of his mind, I, too, would soon be overcome with insanity.

"Eh!? I thought you told me that everything that I do here will affect the present?" I shouted at him. This is seriously way too much.

"It will only happen once you fulfill your goal. It will only happen once you meet with Jan."

"Oh, so now I get it now." Almost.

ooo

A month can do wonder to anybody's house, even if it was beyond every imaginable disaster. With nothing to do and with nobody as a companion, I just did my best to clean Sem's house so it would become acceptable for human condition. Well, at least for me.

According to Sem, I should at least spend two months with a guardian, and then move on to another guardian. I couldn't actually understand everything yet, but at least Sem is trying to help me.

I only see him during the morning, because of his job. It turns out that he is a hired stalker and he is earning well enough.

I was scared when I first knew what his job was. But he said that I should not worry since I'm a knight and knights are brave.

Ha ha ha. As if I remember being a knight, less alone to fight like a knight.

ooo

"Hey, Nia, the war has ended and Prontera won the battle," Sem greeted me one morning.

"Oh, did that really happen even if Arma didn't modify the past?" I asked.

Sem looked at me with a weird expression in his face.

"Beats me. I don't know. You shouldn't ask too many questions, Nia. Not all people know the answers," he answered.

What the!? He could have just said he doesn't know.

"Another thing, Nia, tomorrow we'll journey towards Aldebaran."

"What will we do there?"

"You'll meet your second guardian. It's been two months now. And I'm sure you learned a lot from me." Sem said.

"That long now? I didn't actually think that I've been here for two months."

Yes, really, it has been two months. Thank god!

"Ha ha, you are a good kid, Nia. I hope everything will be okay with Jan." Sem exclaimed with a pat on my head.

I just hope the other guardians are not as crazy as Sem. Or maybe they're worse?

"Hey, what's with the look? You're going to miss me, right?" Sem asked.

Eew, in his dreams.

ooo

"God, how much long to Aldebaran, anyway?" I whined as we made our way towards a thick forest.

"Well, we still have to climb up a mountain in order to reach it," Sem answered.

What the!? My feet are killing me.

"I know that you're tired, Nia, But you're a knight for God's sake. Your endurance should be high."

"Well, yeah, whatever you say, but in case you haven't notice, I don't even remember being a knight."

"So, what? Ready to give up? It's easy, give me the necklace and it'll end your torture."

Ugh, was this guy for real? I just stared back at him.

No way, I won't give up. I've been enduring all this craziness for almost two months now, and there's no way I'll turn my back. And besides, when I think about Jan, and his disappointed face, it sort of crushes my heart. And he'll probably hate me.

"No thanks, Sem. I'll do this for Jan."

"That's the motivation, kid."

"Hey, don't call me kid, we're about the same age you know!" I shouted to Sem, but he was nowhere around.

Huh? Where in the world did he go now?

"Hey, Sem? Quit playing games with me! This isn't funny," I shouted but there was no reply.

"Alright, if you think I'm going to fall for your trick, dream on!" I called again but he was nowhere in sight.

That's weird, where did he go?

I decided that maybe he went ahead or he just got lost.

I was walking around when an arrow whizzed at me and nearly hit me.

What the!? Where in the world is Sem when you need him?

"Stop right there and don't move," a female voice said that came above the tree.

"Who are you!?" I shouted.

An arrow whizzed at me again but I managed to evade it. Nearly.

ooo

**Author's note: Yay, chapter 2 is finished. i finished it a long time ago but i uploaded it just now due to some internet error kicks internet i haven't finished chapter 3 because i was working with a 40 page story (so long!!) to submit in time for the animax awards pan-asia competition. wish me luck! **

Ryuuzaki-chan


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